Category Archives: contest

Posted onOctober 1, 2017|Comments Off on Rainbow Awards: Honorable Mention for Hands On

I woke up to some pretty cool news this morning. My novella bundle Hands On has won an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Rainbow Awards! (In this contest, a score of at least 36 out of 40 from at least one judge earns an Honorable Mention; these awards are separate from the finalist lists.)

Judges’ comments:

1) A well planned anthology, good collection of stories that were long enough to have a real plot development and characters all interesting and stories that had a soid background that make the collection understandable right from the start. I really enjoyed this book.
2) I found myself getting caught up in each individual story. The characters held my interest and I loved finding out about their lives.

Today, after MUCH too long a break between releases, is the day we welcome En Fuego into the world! *throws confetti*

Before anything else, as I am scatterbrained and totally neglected to include this in the story file, I need to send out great big HUGE thanks to my beta readers, D.M. and Kat. In particular, thanks to Kat for sharing parts of her Puerto Rican heritage to help make Marsh’s real. Love you both to bits. ❤

From Dreamspinner Press, En Fuego is a novella about a firefighter, a veterinarian, and the cat who brings them together. Here’s the story blurb:

Marshall Ramirez isn’t looking to fall in love, but from the moment firefighter Brad Flannery walks through the doors of Marsh’s veterinary clinic, he’s smitten. Marsh treats Fuego, the cat Brad rescued from a house fire, and convinces Brad to take her on as a foster—along with the three kittens Marsh helps her deliver. What Marsh really wants, though, is for Brad to keep him too.

An excerpt is at the bottom of this post (behind the cut), and I’ll be doing a small blog tour for the new release, so look for me the next few days…

And, of course, I’m giving away a copy of En Fuego! Just comment on this post, and I’ll pick a winner to receive an ebook (via the Dreamspinner Press website), as well as some story-related swag by mail. Be sure your email is included so I can contact you if you win!

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m happy to be participating in the Hop Against Homophobia, and I’m even happier that you’re taking the time to check out my contribution. I’m going to address the serious part of why I’m here first, and then I’ll get to the fun stuff. 🙂

When I started thinking about what I wanted to say in this post, I kept coming back to the same beginning point: Christianity. I’m not trying to start a deep, philosophical discussion. I’m just making a public statement about my personal beliefs.

I’m Christian.

No, wait, don’t leave! That’s the biggest problem I see: as soon as I mention being Christian, a lot of people tune me out, or don’t believe me. Not that I can blame them, but the truth is that I’m Christian, I write same-sex romance, I support marriage equality, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay or with same-sex relationships. And there are a lot more people like me out here than you’d expect.

Yes, I realize it’s the far-right Christians* who get all the press. They’re the ones making all the noise, ignoring every issue on the political spectrum other than homosexuality and abortion. They push laws to ban same-sex marriage, deny civil rights to homosexuals, and rant and rave about how The Evil Gays should be punished and shunned.**

They’re not just homophobic. They’re flat-out wrong, and on several different levels.

Let’s start here: what if they were right, and God did condemn homosexuality? If so, then homosexuality and/or homosexual behaviors would be a sin, but a sin like any other. I’m a big believer that you can’t cherry-pick pieces of the Bible out of context. If you use a passage from Leviticus to condemn homosexuality, then you’d better not be eating pork or wearing a cotton-polyester blend. So, if homosexuality were a sin, then it would be no different from any of the other myriad sins. If homosexuals should be punished and shunned, even killed, then the people who so vocally condemn them would deserve the same.

But as I said, I’m not looking for a deep debate here. This is about me and my beliefs, and I personally do not believe homosexuality or homosexual behaviors are sinful. Sexual orientation is not a choice, it’s not a mistake, and it’s not wrong.

So why don’t you hear more about people like me? It’s hard to be heard over the yelling of the far right, for starters. The squeaky wheels get the press. And the more moderate, progressive Christians have to be very careful what we say and how we say it. We’re already lumped in with the fundamentalists as soon as we open our mouths. Yelling only makes it worse, because then even those who might have been willing to listen turn away.

We do what we can. That usually means working behind the scenes, fighting against unjust laws, fighting for social justice. It means setting a good example, both for other Christians and for non-Christians. It means behaving as much like Christ as we can, which means loving and caring for everyone, not just those who agree with us.

It also means accepting the possibility that we’re wrong, about this or any number of other subjects. None of us is perfect, and none of us has perfect insight. But I don’t believe God condemns love. We aren’t bodies with souls; we’re souls with bodies, and love is between two souls, regardless of the bodies that contain them.

*I won’t qualify this label. Above all else, I don’t believe it’s my place to judge the status of another person’s faith.**And how women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, but that’s a different subject.

~~~~

And now the fun stuff!

In honor of the Hop, I’m offering up the whole kit and kaboodle: one PDF copy of every story I’ve published (full list here). To win, just post a comment below, with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I’ll pick one winner at random from all comments received from now through Sunday, May 20.*** If the winner already owns any of the stories, then I’ll pick another winner for the remaining ones, until all 10 stories are gone.

Good luck, and be sure to check out the other posts over the weekend!

***Based on the timestamp of the comment.

~~~~

Whoops! I neglected to cite the source for a quote I paraphrased in my post: “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” ― C.S. Lewis

With the various events I’ve attended this year, I’ve ended up with an overabundance of author and publisher swag. I have bookmarks, pens, postcards, trading cards, magnets, and a bunch of other great stuff. Unfortunately, it’s way more great stuff than I can use!

So I’ve decided to share the wealth. I have a pile of about a dozen “goodie bags” with a random assortment of swag in each one, and I’m giving them away. How do you get one? Easy-peasy: post a comment here recommending the best M/M romance you’ve read this year (new or not), and email your name and mailing address to shaeconnorwrites@gmail.com. Why both? Well, the commenting is just because I want to pick your brains and make sure I haven’t missed any great books! 😉

As a warning, much of the swag came from the GayRomLit retreat, so if you attended that, you might not want another set. On the other hand, you might!

I missed the first week of this, but better late than never! Dreamspinner Press is celebrating its 4th birthday with several May specials and contests. Now through midnight May 31, 2011, get 20% off all ebooks in the Dreamspinner Press store, and get the 2011 Daily Dose set, First Time for Everything (which includes my story “Chicago”), for just $49.99 through May 25.

There’ll also be a drawing every week for an ebook reader of the winner’s choice (Kindle WiFi, NOOK WiFi, or Sony PRS 350SC), and new specials each week (see below). Be sure to check the Dreamspinner Press homepage May 29, 30, and 31 for 3 special surprises!

Week Two—30% off all ebooks that are turning 3
Far From Home by Madeleine Urban
Alliance in Blood by Ariel Tachna
The Archer by Abigail Roux
Murder Most Gay by John Simpson
Love Ahead by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Condor One by John Simpson
Sparks Fly by Clare London
Selfless by Michael Powers
Children of Bacchus by Andrew Grey
Cut & Run by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Task Force by John Simpson
Covenant in Blood by Ariel Tachna
Irish Winter by John Simpson
True Blue by Connie Bailey

Week Three—Download the first book from 7 popular series FREE, a different book each day
Sunday May 15, Condor One by John Simpson
Monday May 16, Litha’s Whim by Amy Lane
Tuesday May 17, Cut & Run by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Wednesday May 18, Promises by Marie Sexton
Thursday May 19, His Hearth by Mary Calmes
Friday May 20, Love Means… No Shame by Andrew Grey
Saturday May 21, Luke by Jan Irving

Posted onApril 25, 2011|Comments Off on Reminder: Vote for the Model Student cover!

Just a quick reminder that you can still vote for the Model Student cover in Paul Richmond’s “Uncovered” contest through this Wednesday, April 27. Elisa Rolle’s blog has complete information, and the winner will be announced there on Thursday, April 28. You can go HERE to vote.

The GORGEOUS cover fabulous artist Paul Richmond created for my novella Model Student is up for grabs as a ﻿limited-edition giclee﻿﻿ print. The catch? First it has to win his “Uncovered” contest. It’s up against three tough contenders, but I don’t think I’m totally biased when I say it’s the best. Okay, maybe I am, but still. 😉

You can get complete information on the contest, and a bunch of awesome bonus material from Paul, at Elisa’s Reviews and Ramblings. If you’d rather cut right to the chase, you can go HERE to vote. Three winners will receive the first three limited-edition prints of the chosen image, along with some other great prizes too!

For those who need a refresher, here’s the image in question:

*STARES*

﻿﻿The winning print will be displayed in the Dreamspinner Press booth at Gay Days in Orlando, June 2–5, so no matter who wins, if you’re there, be sure to check it out!

﻿﻿Voting runs through April 27, with the winner announced on April 28. So GO GO GO! VOTE VOTE VOTE!

>My publisher’s having a pretty cool contest this month! Each day from December 26–31, Dreamspinner will draw one name from all the customers who have purchased during the month of December. Each winner will receive every eBook on their DSP wish list. If you haven’t made a purchase yet this month, you can use the code HolidayDreams to get 20% off through the end of 2011. Each customer can use this code for two separate purchases.